good morning. happy super tuesday. i'm chris jansing, and voters in illinois are at the polls right now, but at the end of the day will they provide any more clarity for the republican race for president? well, mitt romney used illinois as a back drop for a big economic speech. he has campaigned in springfield and peoria and talked about jobs and the economy. in a state with an unemployment rate above the national average -- look at that 9.4% -- it is the economy and a comment by rick santorum that touched off the latest verbal battle. >> i don't care what the unemployment rate is going to be. it doesn't matter to me. my campaign doesn't hinge on unemployment rates and growth rates. there's something more

foundational that's going on here. >> i'm concerned about the people that are out of work. one of the people who is running also for the republican nomination today said he doesn't care about the unemployment rate, that doesn't bother me him. i do care. it does bother me. i want to get people back to work. >> what i said was that the unemployment rate, it didn't matter what it was between now and election time because the fundamental issue that's causing the unemployment, that's causing the economic distress in our country is the fact that the government is imposing its will and mandating things on people and creating a yoke on top of businesses that makes it hard to employ. >> joe is the editor in chief of national memo.com. dana milbank, a washington post columnist. gentlemen, good morning. >> good morning. >> we don't really think rick santorum doesn't care about the unemployment rate, do we, joe? was this a gaff or taken out of context, or an opportunity -- an opening for mitt romney, which, by the way, he has given a few

times? >> well, i think, as often is the case, rick santorum often bit off more than he could chew. he was trying to grapple with a bigger idea than the unemployment rate or even the condition of the economy, and it's -- he wants to talk about freedom, and when you do that, you often end up saying things that you didn't mean to say if you're not really ready to discuss those things. he wants to have a big debate. he wants to be seen as a big ideas guy because he is really a senator who lost his seat, and he got in trouble. i mean, they often -- they end up saying things that they say they didn't mean to say, but it was pretty clear what he was saying. >> it is kind of interesting. he sdbt talk specifically about the economy a lot. dana, let me show you a couple of headlines. here's politico. rick santorum steers clear of economy talk. the "new york times" headline, santorum waves away economics. political in his stump speech, you almost never mention jobs. i mean, does he think that the economy is not the number one issue here in places, for example, like illinois?

>> well, it's not the number one issue that's going to drive him to get the mom nation if people are voting on the economy, most likely they'll go with the other guy, and that's why this is a gaff, and it's probably not what he was trying to say, but it's telling, nonetheless, just like when romney said he doesn't care about the very poor. well, you can kind of understand what he was trying to say. the problem is romney's image is that he is this rich guy who may not care about the poor, and santorum's image is that this is the guy who cares about pornography and birth control and all these social issues and doesn't really care about the economy, so even if it was an accidental thing, it fits into the public perception of him, and that's why this sort of thing will stick. >> and so, i guess, that's -- that brings us to the question. where does that leave us tonight? it did look like it was going to be a very tight race. joe, there is some indication that it may be moving mitt romney's way. if he does win tonight, and i think you think is he going to win tonight, what santorum's gain here? is it just to keep him from reaching 1,144 by the time they get to tampa? >> that's what they vowed to do.

santorum, gingrich, the right wing of -- very right wing party has decided that they need to stop mitt romney, the moderate, from getting the nomination, and the forces that are paying for beginning rich and santorum to continue in the race no matter how poor their own prospects are, that's what they want to do. they want to try to get to the convention, and at least force romney to accept platform planks and primetime speeches and all kinds of things that the right wing of the party wants. >> is that what it's about, dana, or do you think santorum can go to the convention and win this? >> well, look, i mean, the guy may think that he is on a mission from god, but if he is looking at the actual numbers in the race, he would have to say the same thing that most everybody else is in looking at it. it's theoretically possible that he can win, but it's highly unlikely, and he is teetering on the edge of being a viable candidate or a spoiler. if he elizabeths today, it's more like a spoiler sxx with each contest that goes on, if he is not sort of turning the tide entirely against romney, he is

going to have to come to accept that. >> one of the things that yovrl has been the centerpiece of mitt romney's campaign and it's really been a tough one for him to explain is about health care. health care in massachusetts, what that meant for the national health care plan. let me read you an op ed, at least a little piece of an oned from the "wall street journal" today. "put it this way, if mr. romney could speak about obama care the way mr. santorum does, not simply as a policy disagreement, but as a threat to our freedom, he would be locking up the nomination." are they right, joe? >> if it was a threat to our freedom, why did the heritage foundation, which is the source of all wisdom for the right wing of the republican party, first come up with mandates? mean, is the heritage foundation a threat to our freedom? was newt gingrich a threat to our freedom when he wanted a mandate? i don't think that argument is going to fly very far when you have a real debate over this. just the way i think that the attack on health care reform is going to falter when people understand better what the

health care reform actually is. there are still polls that show that people don't understand what the bill really does. even, you know, two years later. so -- and i think that is the fault of the white house in many ways, but still, we're going to -- if we're going to have a real debate over this, i'm not so sure that being the guy who can attack obama care the most ferociously is what's going to save the republican party? >> well, let's go to somebody who obviously is probably chomping at the bit to get into this conversation. i want to bring in the rnc chairman, and before i let you have your say, let me play the lip of the new ad that you guys are running. i think it just started today. here's a little bit of it. >> barack obama promised to cut health care costs. >> we will bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family. >> but it didn't happen. six in ten americans are seeing their premiums rise. >> if health care is such a pivotal issue, mr. chairman, as your ad states, do you think republicans then are going to have a hard time with myth mitt romney as the mom knee since he

started a similar law in massachusetts? >> well, first of all, i think health care is going to be a big issue, and i think the reality here -- and, by the way, thank you for having me on the show. i think the reality here is that once again if we show the words used by barack obama, if we show the standards and the promises that he set for himself to the american people, it will show the facts tooz where we sit today, after three years of barack obama, we're going to be able to make a very compelling case, whether it be obama care, which is what we're highlighting this week, or whether it be taxes and unemployment or whatever the issue might be, i think that that is our best bet for making the case against barack obama. now, to your question, no, i don't, because -- his position is that he is going to on day one do everything he can to repeal as much of obama care as he can, and then take further action and lead the congress to a place where we can undo obama

care and then replace it with something else, but -- so i think he has made that very clear, and i think it's not the case. >> but you have him in the middle of this ongoing battle, as you well know. today it's illinois. and you've compared it to obama-clinton four years ago in the past -- in interviews i've seen. there was real passion on both sides. i mean, the people who loved hillary clinton really loved her and who loved barack obama -- they felt they had almost an embarrassment. here even the former governor of illinois says there's no enthusiasm for mitt romney. where is the excitement in the republican party right now, mr. chairman? >> who is the governor of illinois? he is a big democrat. of course, he doesn't have any enthusiasm for our candidates. >> the former republican governor. >> i thought you meant the two -- the last two democratic governors. >> where is the enthusiasm, do you think? i mean, the problem is obviously that your frontrunner has not

caught fire? >> i guess i just don't buy the premise, chris. if you look at the races that have taken place so far, you know, we had caucuses and primaries. about half of the states already have gone. i think for the most part where you have seen the candidates in the races, you've seen voter turnout up, and actually enthusiasm up, and if you look at the latest gallop poll, usa today poll, it shows that republicans are actually doing seven to eight points better in enthusiasm than the democrats. we've got -- we're doing well financially. we're breaking records at the rnc in this race. the reason i compare the two is that all historical data will show you, whether it be hillary clinton or barack obama, governor's races from wisconsin to ohio to pennsylvania to new jersey, what it shows you is that a tough primary with a little bit of drama actually has the opposite effect of what conventional wisdom is, which is it's a benefit to the challenging party. i mean, you and i may not even

be talking today if it wasn't for the illinois primary. this gives us an opportunity as republicans to talk about what barack obama promised the american people and what he delivered, and i think that's really important in that this election will be a referendum on barack obama, and i think that is very true, and i think that the primary gives us as a party a greater opportunity to do that as opposed to just having a nominee and marching along our merry way. >> rnc chairman, thank you for coming back on the show. good morning. good to see you. >> i'm happy to do it, and thank you. >> dana, let me bring you back in on this. you know, essentially there is no chance for rick santorum to reach 1,144, so if we're tug about mitt romney, and he could do it by the skin of our teeth i think is the way that they've put it, it's long, it's expensive, he is damaged. let me get your reaction to what you just heard from the rnc chairman? >> well, look. i mean, that's what he has to say in this case. i mean, there's nothing to

support the evidence that mitt romney is catching on fire, but, i mean, we do talk about the numbers game and while it's a statistic statistical possibility for rick santorum, it's not a probability. the way this works in virtually every case in modern history is there develops a sense of momentum, so it is always academic by the time it gets to the convention, and that is almost certainly what will happen in this case as well. you can sort of see it's building gradually, slowly, but this is -- it is sort of a mirror image of what happened in 2008 in the democratic side, and it looked like it would be dragged out to the convention, and then suddenly things just start to roll and get their own sense of motion. >> we talk a lot about conventions, brokered conventions. it's probably worth saying that contested, as we get there, nobody has 1,144 so maybe you have a couple of ballots. brokered means this white knight could come in. do you see either of those things happening? >> i think it's possible that

you would have more than one ballot. it's not likely, but it's conceivable. the problem the republicans have right now is that they've set this up so that the super delegates, which is what kind of saved barack obama the last time. everybody knew that we were not going to have a brokered convention in the democratic party because the super delegates moved over to obama, and that was kind of the end of the race for hillary clinton. they don't have that kind of buffer. the way michael steele, the former rnc chairman, helped to set this up the last time and the rnc, they don't have as many buffers as the democrats did to prevent anything like that from happening, so there are lawyers in the republican party today looking up what happens if we get to the convention and nobody has 1,1 44. >> you're nodding, dana. >> well, i mean, there is a sense that republicans are being hoisted by their own patard here, and they deliberately tried to slug down the process. the primaries have proportional assignment of delegates that somebody couldn't just roll ahead with it all at once, and in a way this is a problem they very deliberately created, not

expecting it right to turn out this way. that said, i think we in the media tend to look at possibilities and assign them rather more weight than they actually deserve, and i agree with joe that it's certainly possible that it will turn out this way, but history would indicate that that's not what's going to happen. >> dana milbank, joe, always good to see you. s thank you. >> thanks, credits. let's look at the hill right now. the top u.s. commander in afghanistan is expected to be facing some stiff questioning about how recent events in afghanistan have affected the u.s. strategy there. general john allen has said in spite of the shooting of 16 civilians allegedly by that u.s. soldier, and the recent koran burnings, the u.s. should stay the course. meantime, the attorney for the soldiers says staff sergeant robert bales remembers very little about the alleged shootings. bales' wife issued a statement calling the shooting "completely out of character of the man i know and admire." but this morning the washington post reports that when bales was

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closing the gender gap. there's a new report out from the national women's law center that shows that women pay $1 billion more than men every year for individual health insurance, and depending on that insurance plan, it could mean paying 10% to 81% more than men are charged. now, under president obama's health care law all health insurance providers have to stop charging women differently in 2014, and next week the supreme court will hear arguments on the constitutionalitile of another provision. also by 2014. most americans must have health insurance. i'm joined now by anita dunn, who served as white house communications director for

president obama. good to have you back. good morning, anita. >> good morning, chris. thanks for having me on. >> obviously, health care is going to be a key selling point during the re-election campaign. we just got the republican side. they think this is a winning issue for them. in fact, a lot of americans disagree with this law. the most recent poll we could find, which was from the washington post, show 42% want the supreme court to throw out the entire law. 25% want only the requirement that most americans have coverage thrown out, and that group, 52% would prefer the court to get rid of the entire law if that's what it would take to remove the requirement. is this a messaging problem on the part of the white house? what do you make of that poll? >> well, you know, the polls have been all over, but what is clear is that the people who are already feeling the benefits of the affordable care act don't want to lose those benefits. those seniors who are now able to get their preventive health

care without having to pay a co-pay, the women in this country who in two years will see that gender gap erased when it comes to how much they have to pay. one of the interesting facts that was in that study is that in lieu ville, kentucky, a woman who is 40 years old who doesn't smoke pays more for health insurance than a 40-year-old man who does smoke. now, give me a break, chris. i mean, we both know that health risks associated with smoking. this is all over the country in many different ways. what the republicans have not said is what they will do because they actually don't have an answer. i saw that they have -- >> look, all of us who are women we're used to paying more from everything from dry cleaning to shoes to shirts. i mean, there has long been a cost gap in many aspects of society. having said that -- and i'm sure a lot of women don't know that they're paying more necessarily for health care than men are. this is probably news to them. you know, the president is so

well with women in 2008. what was it, 56% of the female voted. now when you look at the head-to-head matchup, 49% to 45% against mitt romney. again, is it a messaging problem? what do you think is going on with women voters, and add to that some of the statements made by some of the republican candidates? >> well, chris, i actually think the republican candidates are doing a very good job of showing women in this country what the difference is between president obama and the republican -- excuse me -- party when it comes to health care, and women's issues generally. just yesterday mitt romney saying he didn't care where women get their mammograms. that's an important issue for women all across this country. the fact that they want to get rid of the funding for planned parenthood, which is .002 of the federal budget, but which gives preventive health care and basic health services for women across this country.

many of those clinics are in communities that don't have other doctors. we do that kind of work. and the fact of the matter is the republican candidates are presenting a clear choice with president obama whose health care plan is going to eliminate the gender gap when it comes to how much we pay for health insurance, who is making sure that we women get the preventive care that we need and that we don't have to pay for the way men don't have to pay for their preventive care, and, yes, that does include birth control. and the fact that the republican candidates have spent so much time with their war against planned parenthood and their war against basic contraception, which, by the way, is a health service, preventive health service, but it's something many women need to take for medical services. i think they're going to help their argument, chris. >> i want to give you a chance to answer because their argument is that this is all playing into the deficit. this huge burgeoning deficit that women who control the purse strings still in many households

and know what things cost that they're concerned. they have to balance their budget. the federal budget has not been balancing its budget. they're concerned about the debt that is left for our children, and their concern is that this health care law is just too expensive. >> chris, that is certainly the argument the republicans have been making, and i think that they, you know, have done an effective job with that, but the reality is that you're going to have a choice between two candidates. mitt romney has a budget plan that will add $5 trillion more to the deficit because he continues to give huge tax breaks to people who actually don't really need them right now, the people at the very, very top end of the tax scale. president obama has laid out a plan that is going to start reducing that deficit, but doing it in a smart way, and there's another issue here that's very important, which is that by getting rid of the affordable care act, you actually are going

to increase the deficit. the congressional budget office which the republicans only site when it sides with them has said very clearly the affordable care act is critical to holding down health costs and holding down the deficit in the future, and, again, you're going to have a choice between two candidates. maybe soon, maybe a little down the road. >> what's your expectation? sooner or later? >> well, i don't know, chris. i think republicans voters every time they're told that they have to accept mitt romney as their inevitable nominee tend to revolt, so we'll see what happens tonight. one of the interesting things about their process -- it's very different from the democratic process is that he has not come anywhere close to winning 50% of the votes in this primary process, but he has nearly 60% of the delegates, so, you know, the cards are kind of stacked in his favor. the deck is kind of stacked. we'll see what happens -- what will happen is that the republican party will have a nominee that does not believe that women's health and women's preventive health care is

something that should be covered by insurance companies and, you know what, that's going to be a big difference for women this fall. >> and it's a critical debate, and we really appreciate you taking time once again to come on and present your point of view. thank you so much, anita dunn. good to see you. >> thank you. voters in illinois are not only going to the polls for the presidential primary, but there are several key congressional races. congressman jesse jackson jr. is facing a primary challenge from debbie hall verson. he has several key endorsements, including president obama, but halvorson says he is distracted into alleged involvement in the rod blagojevich scandal. jackson has denied wrong doing. in an incumbent versus incumbent race brought on by redistricting john manzulo is running against freshman congressman adam kinzinger. [ man ] ring ring... progresso

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see for yourself how much it can save you. michelle obama told david letterman she is staying out of trouble at the white house. she joked that the president is always upbeat. especially about congress. she talked about her trip to target. later there was a more poignant moment when she started talking about her father. >> my father had multiple sclerosis, and i never knew him to be able to walk, but my dad worked so hard, and he loved us so much, and i think from him i learned just absolute, complete, unconditional love. the notion that kids really don't need anything but to know that their parents adore them. don't make me cry. >> no. >> this isn't "oprah." >> nine-time gram where i winner john ledge i wanted will headline a big fundraiser foent tore the president. interesting timing considering that the illinois primary is

tonight. and in november who is president obama's toughest opponent? listen to senior advisor david axelrod on "the daily rundown." >> we're not really running against romney or santorum. we're running against the environment. we're running against, you know, three tough years, four tough years really in the economy. we won a massive victory four years ago, and we got 53% of the vote. 47% voted for someone es. by definition social security thises going to be a close race. >> we'll be right back. turn left. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there?

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individuals, his plan uses two. 10% for individuals, 25% for small businesses. it will also lower -- i'm sorry. it will also lower the corporate tax rate to 25%. earlier this morning msnbc's joe scarborough asked ryan if the debt will still increase with this. >> we do not have that. all right. well, let's listen for just a second to paul ryan who is live on capitol hill. >> what's coming this next year? the sec quester is coming, and a lot of people in washington would like to simply ignore this. a lot of people in washington would like to simply think that we can spend as we're going and ignore the fact that on january 2nd the see quester kicks in. we don't think we should ignore this, and so away we're doing in this budget this year is something we haven't done for six years. we're going to propose to go through a reconciliation process. now, you might be thinking they used reconciliation a couple of years ago. they distorted the reconciliation process to jam through a new partisan health care entitlement. we're going to bring reconciliation back to what it

was meant to do, which is to get spending and deficits you should control. we're instructing six authorizing committees to bring their spending cuts to the budget committee and then, therefore, to the floor by may so we can show how we would replace next year's sequester. >> paul ryan talked about this on "morning joe" this morning. he says he wants this to be a totally transparent process, and so they're going to go through all of these steps so that they can show exactly what this budget means. this is not a budget that's likely to pass, but this is a budget that is going to show a sharp contrast between what the white house is proposing and what the republicans are proposing. now, we should say this. this measure, according to analysis, would produce a $797 billion deficit in spending. that is for the 2013 fiscal year, as opposed to $977 billion for obama's budget. there is still a deficit, a pretty big one, that's coming out of this. i want to bring in pennsylvania

congresswoman allison schwartz. she is a member of the house budget committee. she joins me now from capitol hill. good morning. it's good to see you, congresswoman. >> good morning. >> look, here's what he says. he says we need to absorb the fat from the influx of retirees and the cost of insuring them. he says unless we do this, all of these entitlement programs are going to go belly up. what do you make of his plan? what is the democrats' response? >> look, it's really very, very clear that what the republican plan put forward by paul ryan does yet again this year as they tried to do last year is three things. well, it does many things, but i'll just mention three. it ends medicare as we know it. we'll talk more about that, i'm sure. it actually shifts the burden, the tax burden, from the wealthiest americans to middle class americans, and it increases the tax burden on the middle class. not a good thing, we believe, and it does nothing to grow the economy. so this is a very sharp contrast to the republican plan. really, as you point out, it

takes a very different approach to reducing the deficit. the democrats and the president are much clearer about wanting to reduce the deficit, grow the economy in a very different way. we want to do so in a balanced way by spending cuts and making sure government is more efficient across the board. in all departments while protecting medicare on an obligations to our seniors and invest in our future through education and infrastructure and new technology. >> let me ask you about one of the specifics because this is going to be a big part of the fight, i think, and that is taxes. ryan points out that the majority of small businesses file as individuals. under his plan, their rate goes to 25% instead of 45% in the president's plan. he says that will kill jobs. what's your reaction? >> well, you know, many of us, the president, the administration, and many of us in congress, would like to see a simplified tax code. we would like to lower the -- both corporate -- lower the corporate tax rate.

we really have to be very careful the way we do this. we want to grow small businesses, protect small businesses, make sure they actually have, you know -- have the tax code that actually helps incentivize their growth. that's where new jobs begin. we recognize that. you also have to understand what the republican budget does. it reduces the tax rate for the wealthiest americans while spreading the tax burden to middle class americans. it's the only way that we can get to a 25% rate, which is to actually make sure that the middle class pays more by reducing -- or eliminating the deductions that so many middle class americans count on. deducks for homeownership. deductions for paying for college. deductions for saving for retirement. these are very critical parts of the tax code. again, many of us would like to work on this in a very transparent and open process through the committee process, do it in a bipartisanway, but simply suggesting that you can

reduce the tax burden on corporate america and on the wealthiest americans, that's been their priority all year, as you know, and we had a big fight on protecting the middle class. that's what this real disagreement is about. >> there's one other thing i want to ask you about in the time that we have left, and that is the deficit, and that is the debt. both of these do add to the debt. treasury department figures show that the federal debt under president obama has increased more in his first three years in office than it did under president george w. bush's two full terms. here's what republicans say. they say, look, there's going to have to be some tough choices made, and, yes, there are going to be some cuts that are going to have to be made, but we have to do it. we have to make these tough decision, and, frankly, they say barack obama isn't willing to do it. what do you say? >> well, the fact is you could have said the beginning of what you said as what the president has said. he has put forward a budget, honestly, that is really got some tough cuts in there. he has taken very seriously the

need to cut spending where we can. let's do it in a smart way. not just across the board. let's meet our commitment that we have made with the administration and republicans and democrats to cut. we've already agreed to cut $2 trillion. $1 trillion already done. another $1 trillion plus coming. it's going take us a while to get this deficit down and to get -- and to grow this economy. you have to do it in a balanced way. the republicans are not doing it in a balanced way. they really just are taking it out of the middle class. that's not going to grow our economy or what's made this country great. >> congresswoman allison schwartz, it's good to have you on the program. thank you research very. >> good to be with you. >> i want to bring in the football columnist for the new yorker magazine, james. it's so good to have you here. i have already said that um a fan. i have seen you speak before. here's why i want to have you here. i saw you speak in front of a big group of people, new yorker readers, so smart people. nevertheless, when they hear all these numbers and these

politicians, your head could explode. >> yeah. >> what could the average person taxpayer look at? how can they make sense of what can be some pretty complicated arguments? >> well, one thing i think that's important to understand is i do think the panic about the debt is to some degree that. it's panic. the real question with the debt is not so much the absolute numbers. the question is are we growing the economy faster than we are growing our debt. if can you do that, if you can actually grow the economy faster, can you actually continue to support the debt load you have, and so that really is -- for instance, when you talk about the fact that the debt grew faster under obama's first three years than it did under bush, the main reason for that was the poor performance of the economy. you have -- when the economy sinks, what happens? people's tax revenue really drops, but we continue to pay unemployment benefits and the rest, and so, of course, the debt rises. i think that's really an important part of this story. the second thing that i think is good about the ryan budget, although i think it would be

very bad for the country, but what's good about what ryan is doing is he really is drawing a pretty stark contrast between the two parties in terms of what they think government's role should be. one of the things that ryan's budget doesn't do, for instance, is really make any real significant cuts in the definite department. in fact, that's one of the reasons why he is putting forward this budget to avoid the cuts in defense spending that are programmed many. he is saying, instead, what we should really do is cut much of the social safety net so cut things like medicaid, cut food stamps, cut pell grants and the like, and really change the way medicare works in a really fundamental way, and do so while also lowering taxes on the wealthiest americans so that's one view of what government should do, and i think that's a pretty stark contrast. >> i think that there are a lot of people who are looking at the economy and they have a lot of questions about that too. you wrote this about great expectations. if you listen to mitt romney and to republicans, what they'll say about barack obama is, yeah, the

economy is looking better, but it always comes back after a recession. what signs do you see in particular that say the economy is stronger? >> well, there is the simple fact that we've had reasonably good job growth now for three straight months, so over 200,000, which means we're really creating jobs for the population as a whole. you really need to krael create about 100,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth, and now we're creating 200,000 plus. that's a good sign. the second thing, which is very important, is that auto sales are starting to really rebound, so auto sales went into a massive decline during the recession, and actually didn't really recover until late in 2011, but what we're seeing now is that auto sales are starting to come back. in february we had a big, big spike, and i think one of the reasons for that is just that people are driving really old cars. the average age of the car on the road today is 11 years. >> they say 200,000 is the new 100,000. >> cars are definitely more durable but a lot of people are just saying i can't afford it. now people are saying maybe i

can step up and buy a new car. the other thing is i think you're starting to see a slight, let's say, bottoming may be overstating, but you are starting to see health in the housing market. not so much in temz of single family homes, but people are starting to build multi-unit dwellings, so we're starting to see people moving out of their parent's house because that's been a big part of the economy itself. people have not been creating new households, and as that starts to change, that will help the economy a lot could. >> i like tlooefg on a fairly positive note. it's great having you here. james from the new yorker magazine. thank you. >> up next, a new front in the war on women. tennessee is set to debate whether the state health department can publish details about abortions. ] ♪ ♪ you do ♪ something to me ♪ that nobody else could do

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claims he shot trevon martin in self-defense, but martin was unarmed and his family and civil rights leaders believe the shooting was racially motivated. 28-year-old george zimmerman, who has a long history of calling police for everything from open garage doors to suspicious characters, has not been charged. his family says he is not a racist. french police are intensifying their search for the man who opened fire at a jewish school, killing a rabbi and three children. they believe it's the same killer behind two other shootings last week and in all three the killer escaped on a motor bike. police say the suspect could have filmed the shooting, wearing a camera type device around his neck. in response, france's raises its terror alert to scarlet. that's the highest it's been since 2003. and tomorrow state lawmakers in tennessee will debate a bill that would require the health department to publish details about abortions, including the names of the doctors who performed the procedures and specific demographics about the women who get them, including their age, race, education, and

number of children. two tennessee representatives join me now. democrat gary odom and republican joey hensley. thank you for being with us. i appreciate it. representative odom, let me start with you. what is your concern about this? >> chris, i believe this is an extremely dangerous piece of legislation for a number of reasons. as you said, it would require the tennessee department of public health to publish the names and actually the locations of where abortion services are provided. the physicians' names. then it even goes further and requires -- the women and seek out these services on a county by county basis. it would require their age, their race, previous births, pregnancies. some of our small counties could

help identify. >> the tennessee right to life says it's fair for folks on both sides to see how prevalent abortion is in our counties and in our communities. can't you do that without the names of doctors and specific information about women who are having the procedure? what's the point? >> chris, this has two parts to the bill. number one, it would require doctors to have hospital privileges, which is for the safety of these women, and this is already information that the department of health collects, and unlike what my -- what representative odom said, it would not list anyone's names in this information, and this is already information that the department of health collects. it would just allow this to be on their website, but there are two parts, like i said. one would -- >> what's the point of doing that? what's the point of putting it on the website? >> so that we have information about abortions. now abortion clinics are completely unregulated. they don't meet any of the

requirements of any surgery centers in tennessee, so they're not inspected by the health department. none of these things apply to abortion clinics that apply to other surgery centers, so that's what this bill -- part of it does. this information is already collected by the health department. >> representative odom, if i listen to him, it makes it sound like he is trying to actually protect the health of women by making sure that these clinics are regulated, but you are shaking your head. >> chris, the clinics are already regulated. their license is ambulatory surgery centers. they have to meet the same standards of all ambulatory surgery centers. the centers that provide these abortion services are inspected. the facts are that they have to meet the same requirements as surgery centers who provide different forms of surgery. the issue of hospital privileges is another smoke screen.

many of our citizens must travel long sdansz to come to urban areas where the centers that provide abortion services are located. the idea that the physician must have hospital privileges is really, again, a smoke screen because when the woman returns home, if there is an emergency, they're going to do the same thing that any other person who has ambulatory surgery and that is go to the nearest emergency room or call for emergency help. that is just another smoke screen. i called his office last night after hours, and the message i got on his office phone was in the event you are having an emergency, dial 911, so the whole hospital privileges issue for these physicians who are providing these services -- many

of them already have hospital privileges, but some don't. it's another smoke screen. >> i don't provide surgery, so surgeons. any good surgeon that does surgery on a patient gives that patient their information if they have a problem, and this is a safety issue. we just want to require that these doctors are qualified to be doing abortions and just not any out of -- >> we are going to continue -- >> just not any doctor do it. >> this is part of the larger issue of a mof these bills that have been proposed for more than 200 so far nationwide. tennessee representatives gary odom and joey hensley. i want to thank you for taking the time, and we'll be right back. medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating.

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hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. the agenda next hour, it's decision day. mitt romney looking for a strong finish. rick santorum stumble tiz gate. i'm going talk with illinois congresswoman january and ben, national press secretary for the president's campaign. plus, our power panel. the search for justice in the

shooting death of the florida teen. new details may make the shooter's self-defense argument unbelievable. the reverend al sharpton joins me. what happened in afghanistan? the sergeant reportedly doesn't remember much of that shooting spree either. we'll explore. chris. >> all right. thank you so much, tom. that is going to do it for "januarys and company." "thomas" is up next. i'll see you back here tomorrow. ...there's one brand that always tops the charts. so let's grab a few of those gallons- at a price that's now even lower. 'cause when we mix behr ultra paint and primer in one... ...with a few hours... ...we get more than just color... ...we get top-rated coverage. the kind wakes up walls, and reinvents rooms. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. behr ultra paint and primer in one now starts at just $29.38, it's lowest price ever. do about medicare and social security... security. that's what matters to me... me? i've been paying in all these years...

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